Young girl stole a package from porch, video shows. Police are looking for a ‘Grinch’
The young girl rushes onto a stranger’s front lawn, and then turns around as if receiving instructions, before stealing a package on the porch and running away, a video shows.
That’s what police say happened on November 30 in Bel Air, Maryland, when surveillance footage captured a little girl stealing a package outside of a person’s house in the middle of the day, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The young child stole a package containing boots that belonged to Vallan Hardison, whose home security camera recorded the theft, WJZ reported.
After checking the footage, Hardison told WJZ that she was “definitely shocked that it was such a small child.”
“Coming up to my front door and running away with my package,” she told WJZ. “Not something I was expecting to see.”
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office shared video from Hardison’s front yard on its Facebook page.
The police department wrote that in the video, the girl — described as “no older than 8” — seems to be getting directions from someone who is out of the camera’s view.
“We always warn you about package Grinches this time of year,” police wrote, “but it’s hard to believe that a Grinch decided to use Cindy Lou Who this year to steal packages!
“... Who uses a child in this manner?!” police continued in the Facebook post. “Please be aware of your surroundings, look for suspicious activity in your neighborhood, and have packages delivered to a safe and secure location if you can!”
Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told The Baltimore Sun that officers are now looking for whoever is responsible for the theft.
“It’s obvious there is an adult behind the scenes controlling that child’s actions, introducing that child to a criminal lifestyle, and it’s so disappointing,” Gahler said, according to the newspaper. “It’s heart-breaking enough to know that people to turn to a life of crime, but when you see them raising their children into a life of crime, there are some serious issues with our society.”
As the investigation continues, Hardison told Fox6 that “an apology would be nice” — and she hopes “this doesn’t happen to any more people.”
“It’s a little kid. Who’s going to think that a little kid is going to take packages?” she told Fox6. “It’s pretty horrible. I don’t know why they took my package. I mean, I don’t — they don’t even know what’s inside.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2018 at 12:21 PM.